Logistics firms that overwork delivery personnel on the Singles’ Day shopping festival tomorrow would face fines of up to NT$1 million (US$36,007) for contravening the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Many e-commerce operators since the end of last month have been offering discounts on a slew of products, while some plan to extend the discount period to the end of this month for the festival, the ministry said.
With an expected surge in demand for delivery services, cargo transport and logistic service providers must ensure that delivery workers’ schedules are arranged in compliance with labor regulations, the ministry said.
Photo: Yang Ya-min, Taipei Times
The eight-week flexible work hour mechanism applies to cargo transport and logistics service providers, which allows employers to arrange 320 work hours for staff, as long as they have the consent of the workers or unions, it said.
However, work hours must not exceed eight hours per day, the ministry said, adding that staff must not work more than 12 hours a day.
Those on an eight-week flexible work schedule should get at least 16 days off in that time and must not work for more than six days in a row, the ministry added.
Moreover, they should have at least one day off every seven workdays, it said.
To prevent fatigue among drivers, which affects safety on the roads, the ministry has teamed up with the Directorate-General of Highways to conduct random roadside inspections on highways, with cargo drivers listed as key targets for inspections, it said.
Drivers are encouraged to call the ministry’s 1955 hotline or file complaints at local labor departments if they think their employers have contravened labor regulations, the ministry said.
Firms face fines of NT$20,000 to NT$1 million if a breach is verified, it said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56